Ikamper top tents

[Mike M]

Hi folks,

Anyone have any experience with ikamper skycamp rooftop tents?

They're abit pricey but look excellent and very quick to setup. Bit more streamlined too.

https://ikamper.uk.com/collections/shop

Thinking of selling my 1.8m ventura tent and annex for one of these next year.

Cheers

Mike

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

If this is what you mean, it's brilliant:-

I know they make a few models of diferent design but we'll be using it this weekend and trying out the annex if we get chance so I'll try and get some pics up.
For us it was the extra room it offered over the 1.2 Maggi we had, that said, I think the Maggi was a bit warmer.

 

[Mike M]

If this is what you mean, it's brilliant:-


View attachment 159151

I know they make a few models of diferent design but we'll be using it this weekend and trying out the annex if we get chance so I'll try and get some pics up.
For us it was the extra room it offered over the 1.2 Maggi we had, that said, I think the Maggi was a bit warmer.

Ahh nice one cheers. How long have you had it? Ive contacted them and they have a skycamp 2 so im planning a visit soon.

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

Hi Mike, I've had it maybe 3-4 months and used it twice, but as I said, we will be using it again this weekend. It is on a different Cruiser now though. I like it for its streamlined look compared with some others. I bought it off a member on here in a private sale but I agree, they are a bit pricey new.

 

[Mike M]

Hi Mike, I've had it maybe 3-4 months and used it twice, but as I said, we will be using it again this weekend. It is on a different Cruiser now though. I like it for its streamlined look compared with some others. I bought it off a member on here in a private sale but I agree, they are a bit pricey new.

Cool cheers, did you need the extended ladder? Be interesting to hear how you get with the annex and how well it sits, my Ventura annex doesn't sit great on the ground and I think it's the height of the cruiser and lack of tie down points.

Is it really 60 seconds to setup? Looks much less of a faff than a traditional top tent.

 

[Shayne]

Mines a smaller China copy of the ikamper , questionable quality perhaps but good enough to last me forever and suffice to say when i woke in the morning i was never sure if the mrs was still in it or not , theres room enough for 3 to get a good nights sleep in it .

Theres some pics on the Romania thread .

 

[Shayne]

A cuppa tea in bed is an unexpected bonus

 

[fbnss]

A cuppa tea in bed is an unexpected bonus

View attachment 159163

Just dont forget your boots....

 

[nick_the_fish]

I know its not the answer to the question, but we've got the Ikamper X-cover. Very impressed with it. Doesn't hold up to 30 mph Scottish winds or driving rain, but then I don't think many clam shell roof tents do. Loads of room for 2 adults and 2 young children, literally 3 or 4 minutes to set-up once you have a system going. and all for only 54kg and a small enough footprint to also accommodate a small roof box and some jerry cans on the roof rack. But best of all is their customer service, which is undoubtedly the best I have ever come across in my life.

 

[Mike M]

I know its not the answer to the question, but we've got the Ikamper X-cover. Very impressed with it. Doesn't hold up to 30 mph Scottish winds or driving rain, but then I don't think many clam shell roof tents do. Loads of room for 2 adults and 2 young children, literally 3 or 4 minutes to set-up once you have a system going. and all for only 54kg and a small enough footprint to also accommodate a small roof box and some jerry cans on the roof rack. But best of all is their customer service, which is undoubtedly the best I have ever come across in my life.

Thanks for the reply. Well we experienced Scotland's best horizontal rain and winds two weeks ago on Islay and the ventura held up pretty good apart from a support bar snapping for the canopy across the ladders. Not really the tents fault as the wind picked up while I only had one leg slotted in.
What's the problem with the clam shell tents in the wind? I read that the skycamps are good for around 40mph gusts which doesn't sound much if the weather turns on you. Does the wind try to shear the upper clam shell hinges?

 

[Dave_S]

30-40 mph gusts? You'd never use it here, 40 mph is a light breeze (Isle of Man)!

I'd be interested to hear people's experience of using these in "challenging" conditions as I'm toying with one to mount on the mountain top cover on the Hilux...

 

[Mike M]

30-40 mph gusts? You'd never use it here, 40 mph is a light breeze (Isle of Man)!

I'd be interested to hear people's experience of using these in "challenging" conditions as I'm toying with one to mount on the mountain top cover on the Hilux...

Apparently my Ventura is rated for 70mph which on the Isle of Islay it felt like the cruiser was gonna topple but the tent held fine. Really really noisy though. Only trouble is the guy at Ventura is the worst I've ever has the misfortune to deal with and trek overland just double the price and get the same guy to ship the tents.

Anyway that's my experience of mine this year lol.

 

[Shayne]

Just dont forget your boots....

I only drove off with them on the roof rack once

I wouldn't be worried in high winds i like to sleep with my head to the door anyway so the fold up part would have to lift me and her . The loose fabric would be noisy for sure but now i have discovered and addressed a structural fault with the tent manufacture i'm sure it would survive intact .

The ikamper may not be the same but check how the hard top attaches to the tents frame , on mine it was simply glued and while messing around fitting a longer ladder several times applying to much pressure trying and failing to close the lid until i got the ladder right the frame seperated from the roof in places allowing the roof to warp .

Industrial rivets in it now , i made it mine

 

[Dave_S]

Cheers guys - so high winds are doable, potentially with some mods/strengthening!

 

[nick_the_fish]

What's the problem with the clam shell tents in the wind? I read that the skycamps are good for around 40mph gusts which doesn't sound much if the weather turns on you. Does the wind try to shear the upper clam shell hinges?

Yeah basically they're just bloody noisy. You can take the rain fly off the X-cover which helps a lot with the noise. Structurally they're fine, I certainly wouldn't worry the tent collapsing or coming apart in strong winds, but getting a good nights sleep is difficult when its that noisy.

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

Cool cheers, did you need the extended ladder? Be interesting to hear how you get with the annex and how well it sits, my Ventura annex doesn't sit great on the ground and I think it's the height of the cruiser and lack of tie down points.

Is it really 60 seconds to setup? Looks much less of a faff than a traditional top tent.

Hi Mike, we gave the annex a go at the weekend, its not a one man job and probably takes 10+ min. This wasn't helped by the fact that there were no instructions in the package but a bonus was that there was also the storage units included as well. Also we had to accommodate the Foxwing which was already deployed.
Anyway here are some pics of our first attempt.

I'm not sure how it would perform in strong gusty winds and was surprised to find it was made of a plastic type materiel and not a canvas but it was ok. With a bit more time dedicated to its set up I'm sure it would look a bit less creased. I'm sure that the longer one stayed in one place the more use it would be.
The advantage we found was that we left boots downstairs, but we did only have it up for one night and it did add to the time packing up the next day.
On reflection, if you were using the top regularly and were stopping places more than one night I'd consider adding the annex to the top. All being well I'll be set up at the AO show so its there to see.
We didn't get the chance to get the tent awning tried this time so we'll have a go with that in the future.

BTW setting up the tent itself is literally a 15-45 sec job.

Hope this helps.

 

[Mike M]

Hi Mike, we gave the annex a go at the weekend, its not a one man job and probably takes 10+ min. This wasn't helped by the fact that there were no instructions in the package but a bonus was that there was also the storage units included as well. Also we had to accommodate the Foxwing which was already deployed.
Anyway here are some pics of our first attempt.View attachment 159515 View attachment 159516 View attachment 159517 View attachment 159519

I'm not sure how it would perform in strong gusty winds and was surprised to find it was made of a plastic type materiel and not a canvas but it was ok. With a bit more time dedicated to its set up I'm sure it would look a bit less creased. I'm sure that the longer one stayed in one place the more use it would be.
The advantage we found was that we left boots downstairs, but we did only have it up for one night and it did add to the time packing up the next day.
On reflection, if you were using the top regularly and were stopping places more than one night I'd consider adding the annex to the top. All being well I'll be set up at the AO show so its there to see.
We didn't get the chance to get the tent awning tried this time so we'll have a go with that in the future.

BTW setting up the tent itself is literally a 15-45 sec job.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for this. Looks spot on and a fair size with plenty tie downs. Does it have a zip in ground sheet?

My annex doesn't sit great but i think its ihe height of the cruiser messing it up.

 

[Mike M]

Went down to see Andy at Ikampers just outside Edinburgh yesterday. Loved the skycamp 2x and it's build quality. So quick to setup as well. He also had one with the textured Matt black coating on the hard shell which looked pretty good but more expensive again.

Definitely getting one of these for next year.

 

[Mike M]

Finally mounted the new tent last weekend just in time for lockdown
Anyways, looking forward to trying it out once things ease off abit. Might even camp outside the house

 

[Shayne]

Can you leave bedding in the ikamper ?

I've been wondering if i could fabricate some alternative hinges so i can , though i can see it turning into a much bigger job because i might need a deeper hardtop . I can see happy potential in the idea of having a more aerodynamic aluminium checker plate roof tent and matched roof storage box covering the whole rack .

Funny how a lack of funds lets us dream up expensive ideas .